I Am Like You, I Love Apples

About this event

On the occasion of the planned filming of their lives, three former first ladies – Imelda, Margot, and Leila – gather for a press conference. No longer in office, they still bask in the memory of their glamorous years at the centre of power. Both Imelda's and Margot's husbands died violent deaths, while Leila's is currently on trial for crimes against humanity before what she calls a 'grotesque Dutch court'. To bridge the language gaps between them, translator Gottfried struggles ever more desperately to mediate, fanning the political flames in the process. Meanwhile, the women unanimously decide their biographies are far too overwhelming for a mere film – only pera could do them justice. Director Ella Haid-Schmallenberg, in her debut at Schauspiel Frankfurt, stages Theresia Walser's sharp-tongued comedy with light-footed intelligence and a perceptive eye for the obsurd. The production leans into its saterical bite, with a naturalistic stage design that juxtaposes opulence and artificiality. Nicolas Haumann's earworm score underscores the surface harmlessness that makes the characters' vanity and self-delusion all the more absured. The performance runs about 80 minutes without interval and uses stroboscopic lighting.